Do you know if any Sun City West residents have tested positive?”

Margo Fishel, Sun City West resident's post on Facebook

Anecdotally we have heard of cases here and in Sun City and other retirement communities on the west side. This is second hand information only, as the official counts will simply list them under ‘Maricopa County,’ so we cannot verify beyond that.”

Recreation Centers of Sun City West officials' post on Facebook

By Rusty Bradshaw
Twitter: @SunCitiesEditor

With the threat of the coronavirus still looming, Sun Cities residents are coping with the situation in varying ways.

Some are taking a fatalistic approach, while others are looking for the upside. Some residents are finding ways to stay connected despite closure of recreation centers, allowing only take out of drive-thru orders at restaurants and Gov. Doug Ducey’s “stay at home” order statewide.

No Sun City West residents contacted by Independent provided input on their situations. However, several discussed the issues in social media posts.

Several people are concerned they have no information about whether there are any coronavirus cases in their community.

“Do you know if any Sun City West residents have tested positive?” Margo Fishel asked on the Recreation Centers of Sun City West Facebook page.

RCSCW officials responded.

“Anecdotally we have heard of cases here and in Sun City and other retirement communities on the west side. This is second hand information only, as the official counts will simply list them under ‘Maricopa County,’ so we cannot verify beyond that,” they posted.

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Sun City West resident Jack Leary advised that specific information was not needed.

“What would you do with that information if you had it?” he posted. “Assume COVID-19 is already here and act accordingly.”

Other residents are concerned because golf courses remained open, although that changed April 7 when RCSCW officials announced all golf courses would close April 14 and remain closed until further notice.

“Just drove by Pebble Brook golf course and there were a lot of people clumping in the parking lot,” Lizbeth Turner posted. “That kind of behavior endangers all of us.”

Sun City West resident Tim Harmon changed his opinion on rec center closures.

“I made a comment about the rec centers staff being delusional for closing all the rec centers, etc.,” he posted. “I was dead wrong and would like to apologize as they were only following the CDC’s advice.”

Mr. Harmon posted that he and a friend were sick for two months and wonder if they had the virus already. He added a lot of people were sick with bad respiratory infections and fevers.

“If what I had was in fact COVID-19, no one wants to get it, sickest I’ve ever been,” he posted. “I had just become well from Valley fever when whatever it was hit.”

Sun City West resident Marilee Reemtsma Kyte bemoaned that people do not have enough factual information about the virus.
“There are many opinions regarding covid-19 that range from it’s just a media frenzy to people that won’t walk outside their front door,” she posted. “It seems that it would be helpful to know if we had any cases in Sun City West itself so people would know that it truly is close to home. It can just take one person with the virus to spread it to many.”

Surprise resident Anne DiBartolomeo, who visits her mother in Sun City West often, had the virus in mid-February.

“It seemed like the flu and rapidly turned into pneumonia,” she posted. “I also had pink eye, which is now listed as a sign of this virus. I have never been that sick in my life and wouldn’t wish this illness on anyone.”

She had not been tested because she had not traveled outside of the United States, just a trip to California shortly before she noticed symptoms.

“We are not testing adequately so it is difficult to determine if it is in our community,” Ms. DiBartolomeo posted. “It is safest to assume that it is here, then to catch it and potentially get very ill. I recommend everyone follow the CDC guidelines and stay safe and healthy.”

Residents in at least two Sun City neighborhoods keep in contact with their neighbors while practicing social distancing.

“Every day at noon we go out on sidewalks or the street to greet each other while still maintaining a required distance from each other,” Jan Wiggins stated in an email.

Residents ask each other how they are doing and if they need anything, she added. The gatherings last anywhere from five to 20 minutes.

“It is a great way to be safe, get out of our houses and take the pulse of each other,” Ms. Wiggins stated. “This was suggested by one of the men on our street and has been warmly accepted.”

On a cul-du-sac on Picacho Court, several neighbors often gather chairs and sit in a round table chatting, according to Sun City resident Bob Lucas.

Other residents miss their opportunities to exercise outdoors. While rec centers officials in both Sun City and Sun City West kept the golf courses open, other outdoor amenities were closed.

“I feel very strongly about the closing of the outdoor walking track and the park facilities as this is the only place you can conveniently get exercise right now,” Sun City resident Loretta Darling stated in an email. “The golfers are allowed to continue their sport and be inside their clubhouse to sign up for tee time. Yet a couple that want to walk have to do it on a sidewalk that is not always even which makes it easy to trip and fall and all we need to do now is break a bone.”

She added seniors need to keep their bodies moving and limber or they will stiffen and develop more physical problems.

Sun City resident Bob Eschenbacher and his wife have experienced only minor disruption in their lives due to the disease.

“This COVID-19 pinches, but it does not bite us,” he stated in an email. “Yes, we’re developing cabin fever. But, being retired, neither of us has to worry about whether or not there will be a job waiting for us.”

He sees the stock market drops as a paper loss and he expects it to return when the crisis is done. He acknowledged there are many people affected, including young people with children.

“We can (and have) pitched in whenever possible, but like so many others, can only wonder where and when the end will come in sight,” he stated. “I have to trust that the people in government are being honest with us when they discuss the potency of this latest pandemic.”

Sun City resident Suzy Hallock-Bannigan is not infected by the disease and knows no one who is. But her son is a musician who cannot work and her daughter lives in Spain and is homeschooling three children ages 6-19. However, she does miss some of the things that filled her life, such as the Lifelong Learning Club at Fairway Recreation Center, 10600 W. Peoria Ave., and going to restaurants with friends.

The governor’s “stay at home” order did not affect her household as she and her husband were doing that before the order based on recommendations.

“But I hate it when Bob beats me at Scrabble,” she stated in an email.

Reading and watching Netflix is also occupying their time, she added.

“One morning I found warm Irish soda bread at my door,” she stated. “I would like to think when we/I can finally look back on this time of challenge that discovery was one of the best things about it all.”

Sun City resident Warren Clucker and his wife are making the best of it with things they have at home, and they are staying positive and safe until the virus is under control, he stated in an email.

“This difficult experience we are going through should teach all of us to reflect about our lifestyle habits,” he added. “We have all made some wrong choices about our living practices, including debt, materialism and egotism.”

Sun City resident Barb Chait said her small family’s efforts are focused on finding some normalcy, including finding humor in everyday situations.

“Getting in the car to seek toilet paper, which is not there,” she stated in an email. “Finding out that there has been a run on garlic — you know, to keep the vampire virus away. Feeling like a criminal going out in the car at eight in the evening when I am usually nodding off watching the end of Jeopardy.”

Sun City resident Val Bianchini’s only life disruption was the closure of the Sun City Elks Lodge, 10760 W. Union Hills Drive, Peoria.

“I never use the rec centers,” he stated in an email. “The only exception is we [Elks] can’t take the veterans bowling.”

He has had no contact with anyone with the virus. But his daughter is undergoing cancer treatments and he does worry about her health.

Not being able to go to restaurants is also not a concern for Mr. Bianchini.

“I am Italian and I enjoy my own cooking; few restaurants can match my cooking,” he stated.

Mr. Bianchini is taking time to read a lot of books while he is home.

Closing the recreation centers was a wise choice, as was the governor’s statewide closure and “stay at home” order, according to Sun City resident Ursula Beyer.

“As always, it is much wiser to be pro-active rather than re-active,” she stated in an email.

She does feel badly about local restaurants and their employees, but believes not being able to go out to eat is a small price to pay for everyone’s safety.

“Drugstores and Hardware stores are open, so we have everything we absolutely need,” she stated.